Guide rod latch for card file drawer



Oct. l5, 1968 v. .1. cAFlERo ETAL 3,405,716

GUIDE ROD LATCH FOR CARD FILE DRAWER Filed July 3, 1967 INM'ENTORS l//NcfA/r J. CA HER@ WML/AM ./T SOHL MMM 4 TTONEV United States Patent O 3,405,716 SUDE RGD LATCH FR CARD FiLE DRAWER Vincent J. Caitiero, Irvington, and 'William Schl, Chappaqua, NX., assignors to Knoll Associates, Inc., New York, N.Y., a corporation of New York Fiied July 3, 1967, Ser. No. 651,032 8 Claims. (Cl, 129-16) ABSTRACT F THE DISCLSURE A card tile drawer of the type including a guide rod running from the front to the rear of the drawer at the lower portion thereof for the purpose of extending through apertures near the lower mutual edges of a plurality of cards tiled in the drawer, wherein a latch is provided -between the drawer front and the head of the guide rod, such that when the guide rod is latched the foremost portion of the head thereof lies essentially ilush with the forward sulface of the drawer front, the latch mechanism including a keeper groove on the guide rod head and a latch member comprising a rigid plate member extending in first and second opposed directions relative to said front panel aperture, the plane of said plate being essentially perpendicular to the axis of said guide rod when the latter is latched thereto, the plate portion ad jacent said front panel aperture including a plate aperture larger in said rst and second directions than any transverse dimension of said head adjacent said keeper groove, and including a location where 4the plate aperture is additionally larger in all other dimensions than any transverse dimension of aid head adjacent said keeper groove, the plate portion extending in said rst direction including the portion of the run of said plate `aperture which enters said keeper groove, and lthe plate portion extending in said second direction including a linger button ylocated adjacent said bottom panel; means defining an opening in said bottom panel adjacent to and rearward of said front panel, for access to said finger button; means biasing said latch member in said second direction; and means biasing said guide rod head forwardly toward the forward face of said front panel.

Background orf the invention Card tile drawers are well known, and it is common in such devices to employ a guide rod which passes through the drawer front and adjacent the -bottom of the inside of the drawer to the rear panel of the drawer. The purpose of the guide rod is the pass through apertures in the plurality of cards within the drawer adjacent mutual lower edges thereof so that the cards cannot become mixed in sequence. Typically, the ability to add or take out cards is afforded by removability of the guide rod, which is usually screwed into the drawer front.

With the advent of modern, clean-lined oiiice furniture design, it has become desirable to attain an uncluttered appearance of visible parts. Accordingly, it is highly desirable to provide a card le drawer having a front in which the head of the guide rod has a forward surface which is essentially Hush with the forward surface of the drawer front. It is further desira-ble that the means for causing the guide rod to emerge from that ush position so that its head can be grasped to remove the guide rod for addition or subtraction of cards, should itself be completely hidden from view and yet should function simply and efiiciently.

It is known to latch a guide rod head, and to spring bias it outwardly of the drawer front, so that when unlatched, the guide rod will be moved a short distance in the withdrawal direction by the spring bias. This concept is shown in the Yawman patent, 850,990, issued Apr. 23, 1907.

However, the Yawman construction provides (FIG. 3) a lock cylinder 22 which -when turned one-quarter turn in either direction moves a spring 41 out of a detent 42 on the head 12 of the guide rod, the spring member 41 lbeing tangentially enga-geable with the groove 42. It is singularly undesirable to employe the spring member itself as the latch as is done in Yawman because the spring member is liable to yield if there is appreciable friction at the latching point, so that failure to unlatch can occur. This is particularly true when the spring (employed as the latch) is tangentially engageable rather than axially, and indeed tangential latches operating on the lever principle are unreliable when actuated at a point between the fulcrum and the latching point as is done in Yawman, and the fact that the lever-latch is also a spring and therefore resilient only makes the construction even more undesirable. Furthermore, the head shown in Yawman is not formed to have its forward face lying essentially hush with the forward face of the drawer front even when latched. Finally, and most importantly, there is no teaching in Yawman of a hidden latch release at the bottom of, and rearwardly of the drawer front, but rather Yawman teaches an unsightly lock barrel release which is visible from the `forward ttace of the drawer front.

Summary of the invention In a card file drawer including front, rear, and bottom panels, and a guide rod running through an aperture in the front panel toward the rear panel adjacent the bottom panel for Stringing aperture cards within the drawer, the improvement in latching mechanisms, :in combination therewith, comprising an enlarged head portion of said guide rod adapted to be carried within said front panel aperture and including a keeper groove lying in a plane transverse to the axis of said rod and at the upper portion of said head, and an end face spaced from said keeper groove; a latch member comprising a rigid plate member extending in iirst and second opposed directions relative to said front panel aperture, the plane of lsaid plate being essentially perpendicular to the axis of said guide rod when the latter is latched thereto, the plate portion adjacent said front panel aperture including a plate aperture larger in said first and second directions than any transverse dimension of said head adjacent said keeper groove, and including a location where the plate aperture is additionally larger in all other dimensions than any transverse dimension of said head adjacent said keeper groove, the plate portion extending in said rst direction including the portion of the run of said plate aperture which enters said keeper groove, and the plate portion extending in said second direction including a iinger button located adjacent said bottom panel; means dening an opening in said -bottom panel adjacent to and rearward of said front panel, for access to said linger button; means biasing said latch member in said second direction; and means biasing said guide rod head forwardly toward the forward face of said front panel, the distance from said head end face to said keeper -groove being essentially equal to the distance from said latch member aperture to the forward face of said front panel, so that when said latch member and said keeper groove are engaged the end face of said head lies essentially iiush with the forward face of said front panel.

Brief description of the drawings FIG. 1 is a partial, cross-sectional, side elevation view of a card tile drawer incorporating the principles of the invention, wherein the latch mechanism is in the latched position;

FIG. 2 is a section view of the apparatus shown in FIG. l taken along plane 2-2 therein; and

FIG. 3 is a detail view of a portion of the apparatus shown in lFIG. 1, after the parts have been unlatched.

Referring now to the figures, there is shown a card le drawer indicated generally at including a drawer front panel 11, a rear panel 12, a pair of side panels 13, 14 and a bottom panel 15. As is usual in such constructions, the front panel 11 has a much greater elevational dimension than the side panels 13, 14 and the rear panel A12.

Near the bottom of front panel 11 is situated a cylindrical aperture 11a, and at the rear face of front panel 11 is situated a latch housing indicated generally at 16 comprising a forward portion 16a and a cover portion 1Gb which mutually define a latch chamber 16o. A cylindrical aperture 16d through the lower portion of latch cover 16b is axially aligned with cylindrical aperture 11a in drawer front panel I11.

A guide rod extends from front panel 11 along the interior of drawer 10 near the bottom inner surface thereof essentially all the way toward rear panel 12. The usual follower (not shown) is carried by a bottom channel 17 for slidable movement between rear panel 12 and front panel 11, thereby holding any partial loading of cards upright within drawer 10. Also, the plurality of cards (not shown) employed with drawer 10 each have an aperture near bottom mutual edges thereof through which the rod 20 passes for the usual reason already explained. Guide rod 20 includes an enlarged head 21, which is generally cylindrical in outline, and which is normally located at drawer front panel 11, and a smaller diameter rod portion 22.

Head 21 includes a forward face 21a which is planar, and which, when the guide rod 20 is in the latched position within drawer 10 (FIG. 1), lies essentially flush with the forward face of drawer front panel 11. An annular groove 2lb appears on head 21 immediately behind face 21a, to assist grasping and withdrawal of the rod 20 when the head 21 has been ejected into the unlatched position (FIG. 3). At a position further remote from face 21a, head 21 includes an annular groove 21e which acts as the keeper of the latching mechanism, as will presently be described. The portion 21d of head 21 lying adjacent to groove 21e on the side thereof remote from face 21a, is generally conical in outline with the larger diameter portion being adjacent to groove 21C, and the smaller diameter portion being connected to the near end of rod portion 22, and being slightly larger in diameter than rod portion 22. The proportions of the various portions of head 21 are such that the major diameter thereof forms a loose sliding iit within cylindrical aperture 11a in front panel 11, while, when face 21a is essentially ush with the forward face of drawer front panel 11 (i.e. the latched position), the groove 21C and the conical portion 21d lie within latch chamber 16C of latch housing 16 (FIG. 1). More specifically, the groove 21e lies, in the latched position of FIG. 1, at the extreme forward face of latch chamber 16e (i.e. closer to front panel 11), while the end of conical portion 21d remote from groove 21c lies at the rearmost portion of latch chamber 16e, both for purposes presently to be described.

A latch member comprises a rigid body located within latch chamber 16C, having a major portion 30a extending above drawer front aperture 11a, and a minor portion 30b extending below aperture 11a. Latch member 30 cooperates with groove 21e of head 21, to form the latch mechanism of the invention. At the upper end of portion 30a is a right-angled portion 30C. Below portion 30C and above front panel aperture 11a, is located a vertical slot 30d through which a screw shank 30e having an enlarged head 30f wider than slot 30d passes and is secured to front panel 11. The head 30j of screw shank 30e is spaced slightly from latch member 30 to allow sliding of latch member 30 upward and downwardly in the vertical direction at slot 30d. Intermediate upper portion 30a and lower portion 30h, is located a generally circular aperture 30g, shown in phantom outline in FIG. 2, the upper portion of the circumference of aperture 30g forming the working portion of latch member 30 adapted to engage and disengage from the upper, keeper portion, of groove 21e in head 21 of guide rod 20. At the lower end of lower portion 30h is a right-angled portion thereof forming a finger button 30m. Finger button 30m extends into an opening 15a in bottom panel 15 which meets front panel 11, thereby providing access to finger button 30m from below and immediately rearward of panel 11. A tension coil spring 30p has one end engaged with upper right-angled portion 30C and the other end engaged with screw shank 30e immediately under head 30f, so that latch member 30 is biased downwardly thereby.

The proportions of latch member 30 are related to one another, and to the proportions and position of groove 21 in head 21 of guide rod 20 so as to effect smooth and eflicient latching and unlatching operation. Specifically, the diameter of aperture 30g in latch member 30 is greater than the maximum diameter of head 21, and the distance from the upper most portion of slot 30d to the uppermost portion of aperture 30g is essentially equal to the distance from the uppermost portion of the screw shank 30e to the uppermost portion of groove 21e. With that arrangement, the spring 30p urges the latch member 30 downwardly until both the aperture 30g bottoms on the upper portion of groove 21e` and the slot 30d bottoms on the upper portion of the shank of screw 30e. Furthermore, the amount by which the vertical length of slot 30d exceeds the diameter of the screw shank 30e is only slightly greater than the depth of groove 21c relative to the adjacent portions of head 21, and especially relative to the maximum diameter of conical portion 21d.

As aforesaid, the diameter of aperture 30g is greater than the maximum diameter of head 21 and especially the maximum diameter of conical portion 21d, and furthermore, the vertical diameter of aperture 30g exceeds the diameter of groove 21e` by an amount greater than the excess of the vertical dimension of slot 30d over the diameter of the screw shank 30e. With this arrangement, when upward pressure is exerted on nger button 30m, the latch member 30 will move upwardly only to the extent that slot 30d allows, and that length of upward movement against the bias of spring 30p will be suicient to cause radially upward withdrawal of the stock surrounding the upper portion of aperture 30g from groove 21C without intruding the stock surrounding the lower portion of aperture 30g into the lower portion of groove 21C.

A bow spring 40 is provided within latch chamber 16C, and includes a central aperture 40a sutiicient to admit the rod portion 22 of guide rod 20 for slidable movement therethrough, but having a smaller diameter than the diameter of the small end of conical portion 21d of head 21. As may best be seen in FIG. 2, bow spring 40 is rectangular in outline and has its major dimension laterally disposed. Bow spring 40 is fabricated of spring stock, and has its unstressed form in the outline of a bow, as may be seen in section View in FIG. 3, so that when released (as in the unlatched position), the lateral ends 40b, 40e remain in contact or at least adjacent to the rear face of latch chamber 16C while the central portion adjacent to aperture 40a is projected by the bowing of the entire spring 40 into a position adjacent to the forward surface of chamber 15C into contact with latch member 30.

In operation, the parts are shown in latched arrangement in FIG. 1, and to unlatch them for withdrawal of guide rod 20, a finger (not shown) is passed upwardly through opening 15a in bottom panel 15 immediately rearwardly of drawer front panel 11 to press finger button 30m upwardly against the spring bias of spring 30p. When the stock surrounding the upper portion of aperture 30g has been moved upward, outward radially, from the upper portion of groove 21C, sufficient to clear the maximum diameter portion of conical portion 21d of head 21, the latch member 30 and keeper groove 21C will attain a state of disengagement, upon which the bow spring 4G will move from the planar position shown in FIG. 1 to the bowed position shown in FIG. 3, thereby driving the head 21 forwardly relative to drawer front panel 11. The bowing of spring 46 constitutes a snap action, and the head 21 will generally be propelled somewhat further forward than the actual forward movement of the center portion of spring 40 itself, as illustrated in FIG. 3. After unlatching, the head 21 may be grasped manually, at groove 2lb if desired, to withdraw the entire rod 20, or a portion thereof, from drawer to add or subtract cards or the like. The latch member Sti, as may be seen in FIG. 3, will re-attain its position relative lto latch chamber 16e as soon as the head 21 has been propelled forwardly by bow spring 40, and this is facilitated by the conical configuration of portion 21d of head 21.

Whether or not the rod is completely withdrawn from drawer 10, to relatch the parts the rod is moved rearwardly within drawer 10 until the relationship shown in FIG. l is again attained. If the rod 20 was completely withdrawn this will first require intruding tapered end 22a through aperture 46a. But normally the rod will not be entirely removed, it being under any circumstances suliicient to move end 22a no further than the vicinity of cover portion 1Gb when adding or subtracting cards. In any event, when rearward movement of the rod 2)` proceeds until the parts are in the relationship shown in FIG. 3, relatching is accomplished when the head 21 is further driven into the flush relation with drawer front panel 11 illustrated in FIG. 1 by continued pressure at face 21a. It is not necessary to touch finger button 36m, or to do anything else to relatch the parts. This is so because conical portion 21d engages aperture 30g and by an inclined plane effect forces latch member upwardly against the bias of spring 30g until the stock surrounding the upper portion of aperture 36g travels over the maximum diameter portion of conical portion 21d to enter the upper portion of groove 21C, thereby re-attaining latched relation between the latch portion and the keeper portion of the latch mechanism.

Thus movement from the latched relationship of FIG. l to the unlatched relationship of FIG. 3 requires only a light touch on finger button 30m, while the movement from the unlatched posi-tion of FIG. 3 to the latched position of FIG. l requires only an axial force at face 21a until face 21a lies essentially fiush with the forward face of drawer front panel 11.

lt will be appreciated that when the parts are in the latched position shown in FIG. l the aesthetic appearance of the drawer front 11 is greatly improved by the flush character of face 21a with the forward face of panel 11, and by the lack of visibility of finger button 30m.

Furthermore, it will be appreciated that ythe latch mechanism parts are so arranged that a positive, snag-free movement is afforded between the latch and keeper parts so that a light touch at button 30m suffices to unlatch the parts, upon which the head 21 is smoothly ejected forwardly of panel 11. Again, because of the construction of the parts, relatching is also smooth and snag-free land is quite simple to effect.

While the invention has been described with reference to a presently preferred embodiment, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that the embodiment is merely illustrative of the principles of the invention, and that numerous changes in the arrangement and proportions of the parts can be practiced within the scope of the invention.

What is claimed is:

1. In acard tile drawer including front, rear, and bottom panels, and a guide rod running through an aperture in the front panel tow-ard the rear panel adjacent the bottom panel for Stringing apertured car-ds within the drawer, the

improvement in latching mechanisms, in combination therewith, comprising:

(a) an enlarged head portion of said guide rod adapted to be carried within said front panel aperture and includin-g a keeper groove lying in a plane transverse to the axis of said rod and at the upper portion of said bead, and an end face spaced from said keeper groove;

(b) a latch member comprising a rigid plate member extending in first and second opposed directions relative to said front panel aperture, the plane of said plate being essentially perpendicular to the axis of said guide rod when the latter is latched thereto, the plate portion adjacent said front panel aperture includin g a plate aperture larger in said first and second -directions than any transverse dimension of said head adjacent said keeper groove, and including a location where the plate aperture is additionally larger in all other dimensions than any transverse dimension of said head adjacent said keeper groove, the plate portion extending in said first direction including the portion of the run of said plate aperture which enters said keeper groove, and the plate portion extending in said second direction including a finger button located adjacent said bottom panel;

(c) means defining an opening in said bottom panel adjacent to and rearward of said front panel, for access to said finger button;

(d) means biasing `said latch member in said second direction; and

(e) means biasing said guide rod head forwardly toward the forward face of said front panel,

the distance from said head end face to said keeper groove being essentially equal to the distance from said latch member aperture to the forward face of said front panel, so that when said latch member and said keeper groove are engaged the end face of said head lies essentially fiush with the forward face of said front panel.

2. In a card file drawer including front, rear, and bottom panels, and a guide rod running through an aperture in the front panel toward the rear panel adjacent the bottom panel lfor Stringing apertured cards within the drawer, the improvement in latching mechanisms, in combination therewith, comprising:

(a) an enlarged head portion of said guide rod adapted to be carried within said front panel aperture and including a keeper groove lying in a plane transverse to the axis of said rod and at the upper portion of said |head, and an end face spaced from said keeper groove;

(b) a latch member comprising a vertically disposed, rigid body extending above and below said front panel aperture, the portion extending below reaching essentially to said bottom panel and including a finger button, and the portion adjacent said front panel aperture including an aperture larger in any transverse dimension than any transverse dimension of Said head adjacent said keeper groove, and a thickness small enough to enter said keeper groove;

(c) means defining an opening in said bottom panel adjacent to and rearward of said front panel, for access to said finger button;

(d) means biasing said latch member downwardly; and

(e) means biasing said gui-de rod head forwardly toward the -forward face of said front panel.

3. In a card file drawer including front, rear, and bottom panels, and a guide rod running through an aperture in the front panel toward the rear panel adjacent the bottom panel for Stringing apertured cards within t-he drawer, the improvement in latching mechanisms, in combination therewith, comprising:

(a) an enlarged head portion of said guide rod adapted to be carried within said `front panel aperture and including a keeper groove lying in a plane transverse to the axis of said rod and at the upper portion of said head, and an end face spaced from said keeper groove;

(b) a latch member comprising a vertically disposed, rigid body extending above and below said front panel aperture, the portion extend-ing below reaching essentially to said bottom panel and including a finger button, and the portion adjacent said front panel aperture including an aperture larger in any transverse dimension than any transverse dimension of said head adjacent said keeper groove, and a thickness small enough to enter said keeper groove;

(c) means dening an opening in said bottom panel adjacent to and rearward of said `front panel, for access to said finger button;

(d) means biasing said latch member downwardly; and

(e) means biasing said guide rod head forwardly toward the forward face of said front panel,

the distance from said head end face to said keeper groove being essentially equal to the distance from said latch Imember aperture to the forward face of said front panel, so that when sa-id latch member and said keeper groove are engaged the end face of said head lies essentially flush with the forward face of said front panel.

4. Apparatus 'according to claim 3 wherein a groove extends peripherally around said head, so that any portion thereof may, when oriented uppermost, constitute said keeper groove.

5. Apparatus according to claim 1 wherein said means biasing said guide rod constitutes a lbow spring, which in the released position includes a centrally located aperture surrounding said rod and projected forwardly toward said front panel forward face while the ends thereof are projected rearwardly thereof.

6. Apparatus according to claim 2 wherein rearwardly of sai-d keeper groove, said head comprises a conical portion having the larger diameter end adjacent said keeper groove and the smaller diameter end spaced rearwardly thereof and of a diameter at least as small as the diameter within said keeper groove.

7. Apparatus according to claim 2 wherein said latch member slides vertically at a slot therein on a horizontal post therethrough; and the vertical length of said slot is greater than the vertical diameter of said post by an amount greater than the vertical depth of said keeper groove, but is smaller than the amount by which the vertical diameter of said latch member aperture is greater than the vertical diameter of said keeper groove, whereby said slot limits upward movement of said latch member under urging at said finger button so that the lower portion of said latch aperture cannot engage said keeper groove from below.

8. In a card file drawer including front, rear, and bottom panels, and a guide rod running through an aperture in the front panel toward the rear panel adjacent the bottom panel for Stringing apertured cards within the drawer, the improvement in latching mechanisms, in combination therewith, comprising:

(a) a generally cylindrical enlarged head portion of said guide rod adapted to be carried within said front panel aperture, including a peripheral keeper groove lying in a plane transverse to the axis of said rod and spaced rearwardly of a forward end face of said head by a rst distance, and a conical portion located adjacent to and rearwardly of said keeper groove and having the larger diameter end thereof adjacent said keeper groove and the smaller diameter end spaced rearwardly thereof and being of a diameter at least as small as the diameter within said keeper groove, the maximum diameter of said head being no greater than the portions immediately forwardly and rearwardly adjacent to said keeper groove, which portions are approximately equal in diameter;

(b) a latch member comprising a vertically disposed rigid body extending above and below said front panel aperture, the portion extending below reaching essentially to said bottom panel and including a finger button, the portion adjacent said front panel aperture including an aperture larger in any transverse dimension than said head adjacent said keeper groove and having a thickness at the upper portion thereof small enough to enter said keeper groove, said latch member aperture being spaced rearwardly of the forward face of said front panel a second distance, said second distance being essentially equal to said first distance, the portion of said latch member extending above including a vertical slot slidably carried on a horizontal post fixed to said drawer, the vertical length of said slot being greater than the vertical diameter of said post by an amount greater than the vertical depth of said keeper groove, but being smaller than the amount by which the vertical diameter of the latch member aperture is greater than the vertical diameter of said keeper groove, and the vertical distance from the upper portion of said latch member slot to the upper portion of said latch member aperture being less than the vertical distance from the top of said post to the smallest diameter portion of said head conical portion;

(c) means defining an opening in said bottom panel adjacent to and rearward of said front panel, for access to said finger button;

(d) means biasing said latch member downwardly;

and

(e) means biasing said guide rod forwardly toward the forward face of said front panel.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 850,990 4/ 1907 Yawman. 3,115,881 12/1963 Stark. 3,260,263 7/1966` Bencene et al.

FOREIGN PATENTS 13,959 8/1900 Great Britain.

CASMIR A. NUNBERG, Primary Examiner. 

